A small rock in the Atlantic

Saturday, 9 August 2008

The Battle of Lepanto

Lepanto is the Italian name for the Greek port of Naupaktos, where a famous naval battle took place in 1571 in which a coalition of Christians trounced the Ottoman Empire. (Actually, there were also battles in 1499 and 1500, but since the Europeans lost to the Turks, we tend to quietly forget them.)

And for some reason they stage a re-enactment in Barlovento, every two years, as part of the fiesta.

Even better - they do it on dry land.

This sounds delightfully silly. So I've always been disappointed when I found out that I missed it yet again. Yup, in seventeen years, I've never seen it.

So I'm happy to say that it takes place tomorrow at 5pm, at the lower end of the village centre.

Labels: Barlovento, Battle of Lepanto, fiesta del Carmen, La Palma, La Plama, popular culture

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Thursday, 17 July 2008

Wednesday was the Fiesta del Carmen, which is celebrated in Santa Cruz and Puerto Tazacorte. They have a special mass, and then they take the statue of the Virgin of Carmen out for a procession. So far, so much like most fiestas on the island. Only in this case, they take the statue of the virgin out on a boat parade, to bless the fishermen.

These photos are fromPuerto Tazacorte. The boats go from the harbour, round to the bay just off the beach, where they sail in circles for a while before heading back to port. Then they have fireworks.